


Regret

by Beek_100



Series: Oneshots [4]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Fights, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Making Up, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-22 17:35:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22187212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beek_100/pseuds/Beek_100
Summary: After a heated argument, Daryl and Paul are faced with an unexpected situation.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Jesus
Series: Oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1420453
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	Regret

“And you didn’t think to tell me about this until now?” Paul seethed, voice raised.

Daryl met his gaze petulantly, arms folded over his chest and chin raised. This conversation was going about as well as he’d thought it would.

“He’s m’brother. He needed cash and I took it from my own account, not our joint one, so no. Chill out”

“Chill out? You gave your meth-head, addict brother $800 that could’ve gone towards next month’s rent, or groceries or anything else, but instead you gave it to the one person who doesn’t deserve it”

“Don’t tell me what my own brother deserves, Paul, you don’t know—“

“Oh, but I do! We’ve been together six years, Daryl, I know all about your brother and the times he’s spent in county jail for theft—“

“—that was one time-“

“—or the time he broke into your first apartment and stole the TV to pay for crack-“

“—he replaced it eventually-“

“—or him abandoning you when you were 10! Not to mention the countless times he’s called us both fag-“

“—ENOUGH!”

Both men stood face to face, breathing heavily as their noses brushed.

“I ain’t gonna defend my actions to you, Paul, he’s my brother and it’s my fuckin’ money”

“So my opinion doesn’t matter? We could’ve used that money to fix so many things around the house. Or actually going out once in a while, but sure, buying your brother drugs is more important”

“Oh boo hoo, Paul doesn’t get a date night this month”

“This is not about me. This is about your insistence on letting that irresponsible man child run your life whenever he decides to pop up. This is, what, the third time in 18 months you’ve given him a wad of cash? Has he ever actually _thanked_ you?”

Daryl aimed an ugly sneer at his partner that the other man hadn’t seen since the early days of their relationship.

“Don’t get all high and mighty about Merle, now, Paul. We both know you spent your younger years stealin’ and squattin’ once you turned 18 cause the home turfed you out. And we both know you took your fair share of drugs back then too, and “ _borrowed_ ” cash you never gave back. Did _you_ thank the people you took it from?”

Paul’s face fell in shock. He stared, open-mouthed at the man he loved until he eventually let out a sigh of defeat.

“Go ahead”, he whispered, “throw my past in my face, I don’t care, but don’t you ever do so in defense of that fucking loser you share DNA with. He’s going to take you down with him someday, Daryl”

Before Daryl could reply, Paul turned, grabbed his work bag and made his way to the front door. He paused once he’d opened it and looked back with a false smile on his face.

“Have a great day, sweetie”, he simpered sarcastically. Daryl responded by flipping him off and watching as he stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him. He huffed as he lowered his hand.

“Fuckin’ prick”, he muttered, grabbing his helmet and waiting for the sounds of Paul’s car to fade away before exiting the house after him to make his own way to work.

******

Daryl wiped the sweat from his eyes as he tightened the bolt on the truck he was working on. He’d been at the garage for two hours and still hadn’t managed to work off his frustration from how his day had begun. He jolted when Aaron’s voice sounded nearby.

“Hey, D, wanna come for a drink at Hilltop after work?” he asked.

Daryl grunted a yes and continued on the next bolt.

“Bringing Jesus?”

Daryl flinched at the nickname, but hid it well under his long hair.

“Nah, he’s busy”

“What’s he doing?”

“I dunno, somethin’”

“Oh, okay…uh, you guys okay?”

“Yeah, fine”

Daryl glanced up at Aaron’s sceptical expression and rolled his eyes.

“We’re fine, man, he’s just gotta lot of work or whatever”

“Okay, man, need any help with the truck?”

“Nah, I’m good”

Aaron nodded and left the older man to his work, the sceptical expression still on his face.

Daryl waited for him to become distracted with his own vehicle before he slipped his hand into the pocket of his overalls to check his phone. No messages.

He scoffed, shoved the device back where it came from and continued to tighten the bolt.

_Fuckin’ prick,_ he repeated in his mind as the muscles in his hands began to ache.

******

“Am I being unreasonable? He was being an asshole right?” Paul asked, watching for Tara’s reaction to his tale of woe. His colleague gave him a disbelieving look.

“Come on, Jesus, of course you’re not being unreasonable, if Denise gave her own loser brother any money I’d be pissed, so I know exactly where you’re coming from”, she reasoned, taking another bite of her sandwich.

“…but?” Paul asked, raising his eyebrows as she swallowed her mouthful.

“ _But,_ you maybe could’ve been less harsh on him? I mean, he didn’t use the joint account money and it is his brother. I know!” she raised her voice as Paul opened his mouth to defend himself, “I know what Merle’s like, but if Daryl wants to keep supplying him money, it’s up to him, he’s a big boy and you can’t let it affect your relationship, you guys are great together”

“But, are we gonna keep being great together if he keeps doing stuff like this behind my back?”

“If you can get it through to him that he needs to communicate or include you in decisions, then yeah”

Paul sighed and pushed his own sandwich away, appetite gone. Maybe he had been a bit hard on Daryl, but that was the only way to get through to the older man when he did things like this.

“It’ll be fine, Jesus”, Tara soothed as she scrunched up her sandwich wrapper, “Just talk to him tonight when you get home”

“If he’ll speak to me, yeah….Shit, it’s nearly 1, we need to get back”, Paul said, grabbing their trash and heading to the bin near their table. The diner they had chosen for lunch was one of Paul’s favourites, but they always had to sit outside due to its popularity.

As he turned from the trashcan to walk back to Tara, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He paused, and reached inside to grab it. The momentary excitement faded to disappointment when he read the message from his phone company reminding him his bill was due. He glanced up and saw Tara frowning at him.

He shrugged and gestured to the phone in his hand.

“Got a text, thought it might have been—“

“ _PAUL, LOOK OUT_!”

It took only a flash of a second to turn his head and follow Tara’s horrified line of sight, catching a glimpse of the red car hurtling up the sidewalk towards him before he felt it collide with his legs, and he briefly registered that everything was upside down before it all went black.

*****

As Daryl took the final bite of the burger Aaron had brought back for him, he felt his cell phone vibrating with a call inside his overalls. He smirked and wiped his greasy hands on his knees before getting it out. His smirk became stronger as he saw Paul’s contact photo pop up on the screen.

He raised the phone to his ear with a smile, “Knew you couldn’t stay ma—“

“ _Daryl!_ It’s Tara! You need to get to Alexandria Hospital now! Paul’s been hit by a car, he”, Tara hiccuped down the receiver as Daryl’s blood ran cold, “His bone was sticking out of his leg and his head was _bleeding_ , the car just came—“

“Whoa, _whoa!_ Tara slow down, where is he now?!”

“In an ambulance! I’m following in my car, they wouldn’t let me in the back, I grabbed his phone before I followed them”, she rushed out, her breath hitching as Daryl’s own eyes began to sting.

“On my way”, he said, hanging up and forcing his frozen muscles into action. He sprinted into the workshop, spotting Aaron’s legs under a car straight away.

“Aaron! Paul’s been hit by a car, I gotta go!”

The younger mechanic shot out from underneath, “What?! Is he okay?”

“I dunno!”

“Go, go, go! I’ll explain to Dale”

Daryl didn’t wait to hear another word, rushing to his bike and hooking a leg over it as he felt the burger he’d just eaten make its way back up to his throat.

As he emptied the contents of his stomach on the ground next to it, he only had one coherent thought in his mind.

_Please let him be alright._

*****

Paul noticed the ache in his left leg first, as though there was a weight sitting on top of his shin, and there was a dull throb running across his forehead. He took stock of his injuries as his brain became more aware of what he could hear. There was a shrill beeping coming from somewhere near his head, which was still attached to his body from what his cottony head could tell. He took a deep breath, felt both arms and legs rustle against the bedclothes, wiggled his fingers and toes slightly and winced when the action sent a shock of pain up his left shin. _Good,_ he thought, _I can still move my face, that’s a good sign._

After a few more moments, he took the plunge and blinked open his eyes. The brightness of the room made him squint but he began to make a mental list of his surroundings as his eyes adjusted. White ceiling, halogen lights, curtain around the bed, no clothes on under the covers. _No wait,_ he corrected himself, slowly moving his tender head to look down, _hospital gown._

He gasped as events came back to him. Lunch, checking his phone, Tara screaming, _the car._

“Paul?” a whimper from his right startled him as a dark shape appeared at the side of his bed.

Daryl’s oil-smudged overalls and unkempt hair were usual sights for him. The tears now falling down his face were not.

“Daryl?” he rasped back, wincing at how dry his throat was.

“Oh my _god,_ I was so worried about you”, his partner sobbed, cupping a hand to his cheek as the tears continued to fall.

“I got hit by a car”

“Yeah, yeah you did. You remember that? What day is it?”

“It’s Tuesday, I’m in a hospital, you are Daryl and my name is Paul”, he rattled off, smiling when Daryl huffed out a small laugh.

“Smartass”, he replied, thumb stroking Paul’s cheekbone. The action made Paul’s own eyes sting; Daryl was not usually this affectionate with him, even in his most loving moments.

“I’m sorry”, Paul choked out, “about this morning. I didn’t want to piss you off, it’s your money and –“

“Shh, it’s okay, baby”, Daryl whispered, hovering over Paul and bringing his other hand up to cup Paul’s other cheek as he kissed him on the forehead, “Don’t worry about that, _you_ were right, Merle’s a fuckin’ child and I ain’t gonna fund his issues anymore. Next time he asks for money or help, I’m gonna say no. It ain’t worth losin’ you over. And I’m sorry for bringing up your past”

“You’re not going to lose me, I love you”, Paul whimpered, reaching a weak arm up to grasp Daryl’s wrist as strongly as he could, “It’s okay”

“Love you too. And I’m gonna make what I said up to you by waitin’ on you hand and foot for at least six to eight weeks”

“Oh god”, Paul groaned as he let his swimming head fall back against the pillow, “It’s broken?”

“Compound, so should heal pretty quick if you actually rest it”, Daryl said as he smoothed Paul’s hair from his forehead, “You also had a pretty bad hit on your head but they checked ya for a concussion and said you were fine”

Paul sighed, “This is not how I thought the rest of my day would go”

“You’re tellin’ me, I’m supposed to be at the bar with Aaron and the guys right now”

“And were you going to invite me?”

“Hell no, not after ‘ _Have a good day, sweetie’_ ”, Daryl mimicked Paul’s statement from that morning. The younger man giggled and grinned at his boyfriend.

Their eyes met for a soft moment before Paul’s grin became mischievous. Daryl narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“You’re gonna be my slave for the next month”

“Oh god”, Daryl groaned playfully, “I quit in advance”

“You can make me breakfast in bed, carry me to the bathtub, rub my feet, and feed me my dinner…” Paul began to rattle off jobs as he listened to Daryl chuckle under his breath.

The older man leaned down until his nose brushed Paul’s in a very different way to that morning.

“Shut up, Paul”, he whispered, swallowing Paul’s laughter as their lips met.

*****

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments welcome! :)


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